Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) Sites

The Coit Tower label for this 10' x 10' PWAP fresco "Department Store" by Frede Vidar reads as follows: "Available for purchase are fabrics, toys, wines, and music. Shoppers rest at the lunch counter where the special is advertised at 25 cents."  

Under the auspices of the PWAP, Clifford Wight painted several 10' x 4' mural portraits for Coit Tower, including "Cowboy," "Surveyor," "Steelworker" and "Farmer." The latter is said to be a portrait of fellow artist Ralph Stackpole.

The description at Coit Tower of this controversial 10' x 10' PWAP fresco "Library" by Bernard Zakheim reads: "Joining the artist in the library are family and friends. The artist is reading a Hebrew book. Fellow artist John Langley Howard reaches for a Marx book, Ralph Stackpole learns about the destruction of the Rivera mural at Rockefeller Center in New York, and Beniamino Bufano reads about his proposed St. Francis statue." In addition to the Marx volume, if you look closely you can see a number of other controversial headings in this fresco. Note also the way the real window is worked...

Under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project (and not, as some sources site, the Treasury Section of Fine Arts), Russel Vernon Hunter painted three murals for the De Baca County Courthouse. The murals are on the second floor of the courthouse. Collectively entitled "The Last Frontier," they depict several scenes from De Baca County's history.

The third-floor hallway at DeWitt Clinton High School contains two huge New Deal murals by Alfred Floegel, The History of the World (walls) and Constellations (ceiling). The oil on canvas murals were painted in 1934-1940. The History of the World is 5 feet 4 inches high and 194 feet long. Floegel worked on the Clinton High School murals from 1934 to 1940. In the wall mural, different eras of world history are represented in sequence, starting at the rear, proceeding up the right wall, then crossing over and proceeding down the left wall. The ceiling is uniformly done in blue and gold,...

Ernest Kasas painted the mural titled "The Gift Of The Book To Mankind" at the East Chicago Public Library. While sources attribute the work to the Federal Art Project, the date (1934-35) is too early for that program; so it is probable that the work was actually commissioned under the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). The history and characteristics of the mural are described by the East Chicago Public Library: "The mural on the back wall over the Reference Desk at the Pastrick Branch was painted by Ernest Kasas of Indiana Harbor (East Chicago), as a WPA (The Works Progress Administration) Arts...

Hugh Weller painted these murals in 1934, with funds provided by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). The murals, depicting Marco Polo's journey to China, are viewable in the library of East High School, over the main entrance.

This statue, entitled "Nuestra Reina de los Angeles" ("Our Queen of the Angels") but known colloquially as "The Lady of the Lake," was made in 1934 by Ada May Sharpless with funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Rendered in poured concrete, it stands 14' tall at the north end of the lake on a small peninsula. The damaged statue was put into storage on site in 1986, and after restoration reinstalled in 1999.

The Edward Gould recreation center in Dobbs Ferry, New York received a  New Deal mural, commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), in 1934. The location and status of this work is unknown to Living New Deal.

Hugo Ballin painted a mural, "Rudimentary Education," at El Rodeo Elementary School in Beverly Hills, CA. Completed in 1934, the mural was funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon termination of the PWAP—the Federal and State Emergency Relief Administrations (FERA/SERA). The mural is oil on plaster and approximately 1500 square feet. "Ballin traced his design on to the wall for assistants to complete and included several symbolic references. Towards the top was the Egyptian figure of Set, inventor of numbers, and below him, Tubal-Cain, the ancient metal worker. In the center was a scene of a teacher...

"The CWA also supported the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a six-month project that was a precursor to later New Deal arts projects. PWAP resulted in only a few works in Wyoming, one of which was the creation of a mural and decorative frieze adorning the library in McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne. ... Local sign painter Frank Stuart Lewis painted a decorative frieze in the library, comprised of famous personages in Wyoming history." The former McCormick Junior High School facility in downtown Cheyenne is now known as the Emerson Building.

"The CWA also supported the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a six-month project that was a precursor to later New Deal arts projects. PWAP resulted in only a few works in Wyoming, one of which was the creation of a mural and decorative frieze adorning the library in McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne. Two Cheyenne artists, Libbie Hoffman and Jeanette Kaiser, painted the mural." "The mural portrays an episode from the lore of frontier Wyoming — the reading of Shakespeare's work to Scout Jim Bridger. Bridger is reputed to have traded a yoke of oxen for a volume of...

This cast stone sculpture by Donal Hord was funded by the PWAP in 1934. The sculpture depicts a man crouching behind a wheel filled with gears and is variously known as "Man and the Wheel" or "Wheel of Industry" or "Man and the Machine." The sculpture's dimensions are 6'8" height x 5'6" width x 4' deep, and the base is 4'h x 5'w x 4'd. The piece seems to have originally been made for the museum in Exposition Park. It is currently in storage: "The sculpture was constructed as part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). It may have been...

The Price UT Municipal Building contains an exceptional cycle of New Deal murals in the foyer of the public auditorium. The murals are four feet high and circle around the upper wall for about 200 feet  (800 square feet of painting).   Lynn Fausett, a well-known Utah artist and native of Price, was commissioned by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project (FAP) to paint the murals, starting in 1938. It took him three years to complete the work. Fausett painted other New Deal murals around Utah, including those in the State Capitol. The murals depict the history and industry of Carbon...

Floyd Bennett Field received a  New Deal mural, commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), in 1934, and possibly in subsequent years by the Federal Art Project. The location and status of these works is unknown to Living New Deal.

In 1934, Leo Katz painted a three-panel mural in the lobby of Frank Wiggins Trade School (today's Los Angeles Trade-Technical College) in Los Angeles, CA. Katz was assisted by artists Tyrone Comfort and Ben Messick. The side panels were funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP); the central panel was completed at Katz' own expense following the termination of the PWAP in May 1934. The April 1937 issue of Los Angeles School Journal noted that an "unsuccessful attempt" was made by a first artist before Katz took over. Having "just returned from Mexico filled with enthusiasm from his study...

Charles Kassler painted Pastoral California at Fullerton Union High School in 1934. He received funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Located in the Louis Plummer Auditorium (built in 1930), the mural is 75′ x 15′. It was the first of three public artworks funded by the New Deal in Fullerton, California. Pastoral California is one of the largest frescoes created during the New Deal. Kassler first drafted the mural design on paper and then transferred this draft, one 36 inch square, at a time onto the wall to be traced. The mural was then painted in true fresco...

Elise Seeds painted a mural, "Prehistoric Animals," for a school in Los Angeles, CA, with funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon the termination of the PWAP in 1934—the Federal and State Emergency Relief Administrations (FERA/SERA). The mural was subsequently relocated to the George Page Museum. Elise Seeds' other New Deal work in the region is a mural, "Air Mail," at the post office in Oceanside, CA.

Artist Ross Dickinson painted two murals for George Washington Preparatory High School in Los Angeles, CA. "Valley of California" (25' x 7') is located at the north end of the school library; "Mankind's Achievements" is on the landing of the main stairs (Wells, p. 21). Both were completed in 1934 and funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Dickinson's other New Deal–funded works in the region include a mural, “History of the Recorded Word” (1937), in the Thomas Jefferson High School library (Los Angeles, CA).

In addition to "Science," a large New Deal mural, ENMU's Golden library is the home of several smaller commissioned ("portable") examples of New Deal paintings, including: Gene Kloss: "Penitente Friday" and "Acoma" Stuart Walker: "Black and White Sawmill" and "Abstract" Cady Wells: "Mesas" (which may not be New Deal-sponsored) Brooks Willis: "Sawmill" According to Flynn, the ENMU’s Department of Music Building had housed these examples of New Deal oil paintings. They, too, were more recently housed at Golden Library. Three oil paintings done around 1934 by Nils Hogner grace the walls of the staff lounge. They are colorful Navajo Indian scenes. We understand that one has disappeared....

"This majestic, gilded-bronze equestrian group statue depicts one of the United States’ best-known generals, William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 – 1891). Dedicated in 1903, it was master sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s (1848 – 1907) last major work, and serves as the centerpiece of Manhattan’s Grand Army Plaza." In the 1930s, the sculpture was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Parks Department, from 1934 to 1937." The program was initially supported by federal funding from the Public Works of Art Project (Lowrey, 2008), and later by the WPA. The statue's gold leaf...

This dramatic arch in Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza was created by architect John Hemingway Duncan in 1889-1892. The statuary on the arch was added over the next several years, by several different artists including William Rudolf O'Donovan (men), Thomas Eakins (horses) and Frederick MacMonnies (Army and Navy sculptures and the allegorical crowning sculpture). In the 1930s, the sculpture was restored with federal funding under Karl Gruppe, "chief sculptor of the Monument Restoration Project of the New York City Parks Department, from 1934 to 1937." The program was initially supported by federal funding from the Public Works of Art Project (Lowrey, 2008),...

"This large bronze equestrian statue by William Ordway Partridge (1861-1930) depicts Civil War General and 18th United States President Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885). Though Grant’s reputation was tarnished after serving as President amidst one of the most corrupt administrations in the nation’s history, he is revered for his decisive action in bringing about the end of the Civil War... The sculpture of Grant was commissioned by the Union Club of Brooklyn and unveiled on April 27, 1896, the 74th anniversary of his birth. Partridge depicts a determined Grant in his military outfit, including his signature wide-brimmed hat. The work is one...

Grasslands Hospital (now Westchester Medical Center) in Valhalla, New York received a  New Deal mural, commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), in 1934. The status of this work is unknown to Living New Deal.

The Astronomers Monument at Griffith Observatory is one of L. Archibald Garner's well-known public works. It was completed in 1934 with Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) support. The Monument pays homage to six great astronomers: Hipparchus, Nicolas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and William Herschel. Although the Monument was Garner's design, he worked with five other sculptors to sculpt and cast it. Each artist was responsible for one astronomer. (One of the artists, George Stanley, was also the creator of the famous "Oscar" statuette.) "On November 25, 1934 (about six months prior to the opening of the Observatory), a...

This 22' x 5' mural "Transportation" was painted by William Henning in 1935 with PWAP funds. It was restored in 2011.

Seven New Deal murals covering 1,000 square feet, were commissioned in 1934 for the Stamford, Connecticut High School’s music room. They were painted under the auspices of the Treasury by James Daughtery (1887-1974), a well known modernist painter and illustrator. Daugherty conceived the Stamford panels to show a progression of history, using people from many ethnic groups taking part in education, sports, industry, science and the arts. He used local teachers and students as models. The murals were cut into 30 pieces and thrown into the trash by workmen during a 1970 school renovation. A former student found the mural remnants...

The PWAP funded "nine murals titled “Scenes of Industry” at Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois. The murals were painted on board by Edgar Britton in 1934.  The building was torn down and replaced.  No one knew about the murals until Hana Field, as an eighth grader, did a history project on New Deal art.  She called High Park High School.  A custodian found them, when he decided to look at some things in the attic.  The boards had been saved to cover broken windows.  They are now cleaned and restored and are in the media center." The 9...

Haldane Douglas painted a 42' x 16' mural, titled "Education," in Hollywood High School's library. The mural was funded by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and—upon the termination of the PWAP—the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). It was completed in 1934. Located above the library's circulation desk, "Education" depicts "the roots of modern civilization in Greek culture and emphasizing that which gives Hollywood its unique position in the world of entertainment. It was Mr. Douglas' first mural and a piece of which WPAP officials were not particularly proud" (Wells, p. 22). Featured in the mural is the Hollywood Bowl,...

"The murals in the Grant Wood Heritage Area and on the walls of the staircase leading to the Upper Lobby of the original building are without doubt the major artistic feature of the Iowa State University Library." These murals by Grant Wood can be divided into two main sets: eight panels of the Other Arts Follow mural were painted under the PWAP in 1934; the three panels referred to as "Breaking the Prairie" were painted two years later under the WPA/NYA. "The eight panels of the Other Arts Follow mural reflect the divisions of Iowa State College at the time: Veterinary...

The Food Sciences Building courtyard contains a 1934 fountain decorated with six bas-relief panels created by artist Christian Petersen under the Public Works of Art Project: "This mural, composed of six bas relief panels flanking a central fountain, depicts the history of the dairy industry in Iowa and America. The first three panels, located to the left of the fountain, depict the 19th century processes involved with the dairy production. At that time, everyone in the family took part in the milk production process: hand milking, straining, butter churning, and hauling milk to town were all part of the process before...

"San Diego Mural" was painted by Belle Baranceanu in 1934 with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. Medium: oil on canvas

"The murals in the Paul Bunyan Room in the Wisconsin Student Union in Madison, WI were done by James Watrous funded by the PWAP."

As part of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), Arthur Ames completed two oil on gesso murals for the John C. Fremont School in Anaheim, California. They were painted for the entrance hall for the school auditorium. The original mural was 14 feet by 87 feet. The mural depicts a man, presumably a school teacher, surrounded by school children. The original murals are presumed to have been lost when the school building was redeveloped in the 1970s. The school closed because of high upkeep costs and low attendance. A housing tract was built.  A black and white image of one of the...

In 1934, Harold Swartz created a bronze sculpture for John Marshall High School (Los Angeles, CA) of the school's namesake. He likely received funding from the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP).

Three 15' x 7.5' frescoes by David Park on the themes "Art," "Civilization," and "Nature." The frescoes surround the main entrance. The murals were done as part of the Public Works of Art Program (then funded by the CWA).

In 1934, with Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) funding, Sargent Johnson created an organ screen for the California School for the Blind in Berkeley. Today, the organ screen—a 22-foot-long redwood relief of musicians, animals, birds, and plants—is located at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. Two years after creating the organ screen, Johnson was hired by the Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Project (WPA-FAP) as a senior sculptor; soon he was promoted to unit supervisor. Under the auspices of the FAP, Johnson completed a companion relief for the School for the Blind to be...

Oncell: "In 1934, as part of a local Public Works Art Project, three Houston area artists were commissioned to paint murals in the Houston Public Library (HPL) building.  The murals found on the first and second floors of the Julia Ideson Building now constitute the largest collection of depression-era murals found in the city of Houston. This triptych, or three piece set, found in our first floor hallway depict Spanish scenes and symbols painted by artist Angela McDonnell of Galveston.  In 1930, Miss McDonnell had obtained passage on a cargo ship leaving Houston and ended up in Barcelona, Spain. ...

From the Kansas State University website: "David Hicks Overmyer painted the four Historic Farrell Library murals in 1934 as part of the federal government’s Public works of Art Project. Each of these murals is 11’ x 14’ and their subjects symbolize the four major academic pursuits of the institution at the time: science and industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, the arts, and home economics. Overmyer, an illustrator, artist, and muralist, was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1889 and died there in 1973. He has murals in several other Kansas sites including courthouses in Ft. Scott and Norton, Topeka High School,...

The Laguna Honda Hospital contains five 8' x 6' murals by Glen Wessels, painted with funding from the PWAP in 1934. Four of the murals depict the elements "Earth," "Air," "Water" and "Fire," while a fifth is called "The Professions."